Article 42 · Regulation (EU) 2022/2065
Transparency reporting
Six-monthly transparency reports, plus publication of risk assessments and audit reports.
- Applies to
- VLOPs and VLOSEs
- Frequency
- Every six months; risk and audit reports annually
Designated providers report under Article 15 at least every six months rather than annually, and must add human resources devoted to content moderation broken down by official language, the qualifications and training of moderators, and the accuracy indicators of any automated moderation.
They must also publish, at least every six months, the average monthly active recipients for each Member State.
Article 42(4) requires publication, within three months of receiving each audit report, of the Article 34 risk assessment, the Article 35 mitigation measures, the audit report and the audit implementation report — with redactions permitted for confidential information or security risks, and an unredacted version supplied to the Commission.
The Commission has issued preliminary findings that TikTok and Meta may have breached transparency obligations. Preliminary findings are not a final decision.
Worth knowing
- Six-monthly reporting is the main public artefact of the regime for anyone outside the process.
- An implementing regulation harmonises the reporting templates so that figures can be compared across services.
Where this has been enforced
Article 42 has featured in 2 formal proceedings to date, none yet concluded with a penalty.
- 19 February 2024 TikTok — Protection of minors, addictive design, advertising and data access
- 30 April 2024 Facebook, Instagram — Deceptive advertising, civic discourse and researcher data access